Twenty Ninth Street: Opening of Trader Joe's in Boulder not delayed

Mall refutes grocer's claim Boulder store opening in 2014

An artist's rendering of the Trader Joe's store planned on the site of the former Applebee's at Twenty Ninth Street in Boulder.

Officials at Twenty Ninth Street said Tuesday that the mall's new Trader Joe's location is still on track to open late this fall, despite comments this week from the California-based specialty grocer that its Boulder store now is scheduled to debut in 2014.

Construction at the 1906 28th St. site is on schedule, said Kate Taggart Honea, senior marketing manager of Twenty Ninth Street. A 14,000-square-foot Trader Joe's will be built in place of a former Applebee's restaurant, which was demolished at the end of May.

"We're still thinking late fall -- definitely 2013," Honea said of the opening date for Trader Joe's. "We're definitely on the right track."

In addition to the Boulder store, Trader Joe's has a location under construction on Colorado Boulevard in Denver. The Monrovia, Calif.-based chain recently signed a lease to open a store in Greenwood Village, the Denver Post reported Monday.

Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki told the Post that all three Colorado locations are expected to open in 2014 -- a shift from the company's previous statements that the Boulder and Denver locations would open by the end of 2013.

Twenty Ninth Street's Honea said that date does not align with activity underway in Boulder.

"At this point, I don't see any reason that we would be delayed into 2014," Honea said.

Mochizuki could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Trader Joe's is one of two new grocers coming to Boulder. A Walmart Neighborhood Market is under construction at Diagonal Plaza and is expected to open in the fall, officials for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said.

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